PARENTS WHO WOO THEIR CHILDREN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2369, 27 July 1899, Page 56

PARENTS WHO WOO THEIR CHILDREN.

The extraordinary position of a man falling in love with a lady only to discover she was his own daughter strikes one as being barely possible, and eminently improbable ; but we have been able to unearth records of two or three such cases, and they are truly remarkable stories. Possibly the most well-known instance was the case of a Manchester man who married young, and getting into very serious financial difficulties, determined to start a fresh career abroad. He in consequence deserted his wife and his baby daughter, then only a few months old, and scraping together all his available funds, shipped for South America. After some years of bitter struggling he met with success, and at the end of 19 years' absence, when he was 41, he returned to England a comparatively well-to-do man. ,

and the waiters." Another writer says that the imhappy woman often played with the tears streaming down her cheeks. Lady Mary Compton, an old maiden lady, a contemporary of Miss Pelham, and, like her, addicted to gambling, had the same propensity to tears. When she lost, we are told, she wept bitterly — "not for the loss itself," she was careful to explain, "but for the uukindness of the cards."

Both ladies, when hick went against them, lost their tempers, as did many others, and amongst them Mrs Clive. The actress, after her retirement from the stage, lived at Twickenham, in a cottage lent her by Horace Walpole. The place had then a reputation for quiet card parties. In Montpellier Row lived four aged dames, known in the neighbourhood as Manille, Spadille, Basto, and Pimto, terms drawn from the game of quadrille. They were accustomed to assemble every night at each other's houses to play cards. On the first of the month each in turn gave a grand partj\ A relative to one of the ladies has left an account of one of these functions at which he was present. Mrs Clive was one of the guests, and happened to have for her opponent an old lady with very white hair, who in the course of the game displayed two black aces. Thereupon Mrs Clive flew into a rage and screamed :

" Two black aces ! Here, take your money, though I wish instead .1 could give you two black eyes, you old white cat ! " — Temple Bar, for June.